Research

(1) Researching Genre

The main genre of my magazine will obviously be music, but there are many other sub-genres of music that i could go into with my magazine. I think it is most likely that my magazine will focus on pop music, because it is a genre of music that i know the most about, but it will probably end up being a hybrid magazine, with many different genres of music included in it, for example; indie, easy listening, R&B, etc. My magazine will also be a hybrid because it will not only include information on music artists, bands, events and gigs, but it will also include some gossipy style articles and reviews.

(2) Researching Audience

I doubt that my magazine would have a niche audience, because so many people like pop music.Therefore i would be aiming my magazine at quite a wide audience. However, my primary target audience will be teenagers and young adults from the ages of about 15 - 21. This means i can use colloquilism and slang in my designs, and language techniques that i could not use if my audience was any older because older generations don't really appreciate those kinds of things. 

I want my magazine to be for both use and gratification. Hopefully my magazine would be informative, because it's telling the audience about individual artists, bands, gigs and events. But I also want my audience to get a sense of pleasure from reading my magazine because of it's entertainment and humor value.

My magazine will include the hypodermic needle theory because although i don't want to force my audience into liking pop music, i would like to show them that some pop artists are just as talented at other genre artists. I know from experience that some people just write pop music off straight away, because it's for 'boring mainstream people' but i would like to be able to have the chance to change people's minds about that with my magazine.

(3) Researching Music Magazines

This NME front cover has all the conventions of a good magazine cover. It has a clear colour scheme of black, white, red, and yellow which can be aimed at both genders. It has a large, posed picture of who that week's issue is focusing on, but it also includes inset pictures about other features inside the magazine. The masthead and headline are both large, clear fonts with bold contrasting colours to make them stand out. The plugs give a substantial amount of information about what is to come inside the magazine, and the circle text boxes give the cover an interesting design. It is important that the cover also shows vital information like the issue number, date and price. 

The black, white and red theme is carried on on the contents page, which clearly show a continuation of design. The subheadings of 'news' and 'reviews' are helpful in narrowing down a search for a specific article in the magazine. The main image fits together with the main text 'the end of the astoria' to show the clear link. The use of the arrows is effective as it repeated throughout, and adds emphasis to some points of text. Advertising on the contents page is also a clever idea because almost every person is likely to look at the contents page, so the advert will get noticed. 

By using the same fonts and colours as the front cover, the magazine has made a direct link between the cover and the double page spread. The image is also similar to the one on the front, which also links it. Most of the double page spread is taken up with the picture and the quote, which makes it more visually appealing than just columns of writing. However, the information is still there (columns bottom left) so the magazine is still fulfilling it's purpose. 

(4) Researching Music Magazine Mastheads

The 'Q' magazine logo is a simple but effective design. The use of white on a red background makes the logo stand out and catch the readers attention, whilst the use of two sexless colours makes the magazine applicable to both a male and female audience. 'Q' is simple to understand and a very small masthead, which allows more room on the front cover for other things.

The 'NME' logo is supposed to represent the rebels of the music world. As if the boldness of the white background against the red lettering wasn't enough, the black outline makes the logo seem very edgy. It also has an implicit meaning, making it one of the smartest mastheads in the music magazine industry. Although 'NME' primarily stands for 'New Musical Express' if said quickly, it also sounds like 'enemy' which suggests the magazine is for people who go against the grain of popular mainstream music. 

 The word 'mojo is slang word for self-confidence, self-esteem or sex appeal, which applies heavily to this magazine. The use of slang also appeals to a younger audience who prefer language that is less conventional. The black on white colour scheme makes the logo clear and attractive to both males and females. 

(5) Researching Fonts

Times New Roman 

Times New Roman is one of the most recognisable fonts in the world. With it's sharp edges and old fashioned feel it connotes solidarity and formality, which I certainly don't want for my magazine. Times New Roman is quite a mundane and formal font and I want my magazine cover to be approachable, so I probably won't use it. 

Bradley Hand ITC 

Bradley Hand is a slightly curvier font which appeals more to girls. However, my magazine will be aimed at both boys and girls. It is more interesting to look at, but I find it quite hard to understand and I think using this for my front cover would make it difficult to read and I wouldn't want that.

Century Gothic 

The larger letter formation of Century Gothic makes it incredibly understandable and gives it a sense of importance and boldness. It also has a curved and free feel about it which consequently makes it seem more informal, which is what I want.

Rockewell Extra Bold

This font would be great at attracting a readers attention because of it's boldness. However, I would be worried that it would take some of the emphasis away from the images and other text. I may consider it for just the masthead or headline perhaps, I think too much of this font would make my front cover too crowded.

Lucida Sans 

This is another font that I would consider using on my front cover because it's not as informal and businesslike as Times New Roman, but it's not as excessively curly as Bradley Hand - it's somewhere inbetween. It's a spacious font which makes it easy to read and it looks informal enough to attract a younger audience.

(6) Researching Layout

This is a less typical layout for a magazine, and one that is not seen quite as much. The masthead is still the main focus as it's the largest text, but the letters are vertical, reading downwards, rather than horizontal. This unusual layout would be likely to attract attention as it's not what people consider to be the norm. On this layout the bar code and price are situated just inside the masthead on the left side, and this is because I wanted to leave the whole of the right side for plugs, headlines and information. The bar code is still in a easily accessible place, and the price can still be easily seen. Also included on this layout is a 'free gift' promotional strip at the top, which is a marketing technique to get people to buy the magazine. Young people like to think they're getting something for nothing, so adding this free gift offer in a place where it can be easily seen makes this layout effective where sales are concerned. As the masthead is down the left side, all the plugs and information will go down the right so, to ensure that the magazine doesn't look too crowded in some parts. The main image will cover the whole of the front cover, and there will be no inset picture either to make sure the main image is the biggest focus. Although this layout is more interesting, I will not be using it as I think my audience will respond better to a magazine cover that is more typical and familiar. 

This layout is similar to most that I have seen on not just music magazines, but all magazines in general. It's very clear structurally, and is simple to navigate you way around. This is the classic layout for a magazine, and the one that I am most likely to use. The masthead is the main focus where text is concerned, as it's the largest and in a place where it can be clearly seen. It's important that the masthead is bold and visible as it would usually be what the reader is looking for, and it attracts the eye. The issue number and date would be directly below the masthead because although they are important, they are not the most vital pieces of information, and don't really play a part in attracting an audience to the magazine. The bar code is situated in the bottom right, because it's not supposed to interfere with the magazine's look at all, but it needs to be easily accessible for marketing purposes. The price needs to be easily visible, so that new customers are aware of how much the magazine is, but I don't want it to be in a place that gets in the way of the images or text. The plugs and information down the two sides is a very typical layout for a magazine, and one that I will probably follow. The main image will cover a large proportion of the magazine as it needs to be inviting to the audience, which is accomplished through size and what the image is of. No other images are included on the front cover, as other pictures detract from the main focus. This is the layout that i will be following.

(1) Planning Mastheads

To test some of my masthead ideas, I asked 10 people between the age of 15 - 18 which one they thought would be best for a magazine aimed at their demographic.

EXTRA! - all of my test subjects said that this masthead idea was too general, and couldn't be directly linked to music in any way, making it a bad choice. Some also mentioned about the chewing gum 'extra' and how it just made them think of that.

hotspot - i wanted this masthead to give the impression that my magazine would be the first place to go for new music information, but once again, 8 out of 10 people said that the masthead was too general, and it wasn't very clear that is was being used for a music magazine.

vibes - 7 out of 10 of my test subjects said that this masthead had direct links with music, so it made it a stronger candidate for actually being the masthead i used. Some suggested changing it to just 'vibe' and they thought that sounded better; more direct and bold.

the hype machine - this was the most favoured masthead idea amongst the test subjects, with 9 of them saying that, even though it's quite long for a masthead, they thought it was the best sounding. They said the word 'hype' connoted excitement  and busyness  which would probably mean that young people would want to read it because it sounds animated. 

THE HYPE MACHINE

After the test results, I have decided to use this as my masthead. I chose this phrase because it uses a slang word 'hype' which will appeal to my target audience, who appreciate colloquialisms. I also thought the phrase 'hype machine' makes it seem like my magazine is creating the excitement that surrounds music, and I think that's a really positive connotation for a masthead to have.

(2) Planning Colour Schemes 

LIGHT GREEN DARK GREEN BLACK

I thought this colour scheme would be interesting to have as i've not seen many magazines that use green before. However, after some thought I decided that green would not be the best idea as it's a colour mainly aimed at boys, and I want my magazine to be applicable to boys AND girls. I also thought it gave off connotations of nature and environment which I don't really want as my magazine is about music.

LIGHT BLUE DARK BLUE BLACK

These three colours are a more popular choice for magazine colour schemes but this was my least favourite idea. Although many girls like blue, it's very stereotypically a 'boy colour' and i'd be worried that girls wouldn't be attracted to my magazine because it looks more aimed at boys. I also thought that the contrast between the light and dark would be too bright, and pull the focus of the front cover away from the image and text, which I wouldn't want.

RED GREY BLACK

This is the colour scheme that I have chosen to use throughout my magazine. I think it would be very appropriate because red and grey are both colours that can apply to both sexes. I used red because I think it will give a nice bold touch to the front cover against the grey and white, without being too overpowering. I think these three colours compliment each other well and will create the kind of image I want for my magazine. 

(3) Planning Images

Front Cover

This is the image I decided to use for my front cover. I knew from the beginning that I wanted my magazine to have a white background, so it was important that my main image also had a white background. I also knew that I didn't want just a plain standing in the centre third picture, hence why the subject of my image is sitting and is placed just in the left third of the picture. I chose this image because I really like that, although the image was planned, it doesn't look like it has been. As the subject is looking down at his guitar, it appears that he's engrossed in his music, which is definitely the kind of message I want my magazine to give off. My magazine isn't about gossip, it's about music, and I think the picture shows that. I used a picture manipulating program to make the chair he is sitting on red (as it was black before) because I thought there needed to be more colour in the photo. Changing the chair to red also fits in with my house colour scheme. Overall I was very pleased with this image as it shows music at it's most innocent; the artist isn't there to just pose and look attractive, he's there because he has a talent and he loves what he does. That's what my magazine is all about, and the guitar playing and casual stance of the subject shows that.

(6) Planning Front Cover 

(5) Planning Contents Page 

(4) Planning Double Page Spread

Final Front Cover 

Final Contents Page

Final Double Page Spread

Evaluation

This is a picture of my final front cover, and the original plan I had for it. I want to make a direct comparison outlining all the aspects I changed because I was not satisfied, and giving my reasons for all the conventions I did use.

As you can see I kept to my planned layout, having the main masthead at the top, plugs down both sides, and a main image covering the whole page. I was generally pleased with the way my front cover looked, but after testing it on 5 of my colleagues, they all said that it looked a bit too busy and they had a hard time focusing on the main image and headline. After this point was made, I removed the ‘MEET ELLIE GOULDING’ plug to make the front cover slightly more spacious. I then lengthened ‘BEST SONGS OF 2010’ to ‘LOOK BACK AT THE BEST MUSICAL MOMENTS OF 2010’ to ensure that I hadn’t left too much of the magazine looking blank. This change improved the appearance of my front cover greatly. I also changed the wording of the headline slightly to add the word ‘exclusive’ because it makes the interview seem more special, as my magazine is the only one to have talked to the artist. I was pleased with my choice of colours because I think they blended well together, and they added a touch of boldness that draws the eye to my magazine. I originally started with only one shade of grey but my text started to look too similar so I changed one section of text to a slightly darker grey, and I think that looked a lot better. I wanted to use red because it has connotations of excitement and danger, which suggests my magazine is exploring the unknown. My image has the right representation that I want for my magazine, as the image shows the pure enjoyment of music and that’s what I want my magazine to be about. I wanted to show people that wouldn’t usually pick up a ‘pop music’ magazine, that music is music, and can be appreciated by everyone. 

My final contents page was very similar to my original plan. I carried the house colour scheme over, so that my front cover and contents page are directly linked. After production I have come to the realisation that there are many aspects of the contents page that I am not pleased with. For example; looking back on my plan, I think I should have included more page information as the page looks quite bare.  I think using only black text for the page information is quite dull as well, and if I were to do this contents page again I would think about using some other colours. However, I do think some of my page ideas are good, as they keep within the genre of my music magazine and include artists and bands that fit in with the ‘pop’ genre. The pictures are also linked to some of my page ideas which creates coherency. 

I was very pleased with how my double page spread turned out, and this was because I used my plan effectively. I created a large quotation section because it is a good way to make the text stand out and create an exciting layout. I also thought that putting it on a jaunty angle would make it more ascetically pleasing, and after testing it on 5 people, they also agreed with this. In keeping with the style of my plan, I had the article in columns which is a typical convention of a magazine. I always planned on doing an interview style article which I think was a good idea because it adds more interest that just a feature article. The colours on my double page spread are the same to the colours used on the front cover and contents page with carries on with my house colour scheme. Concerning the main image, I wanted one that was taken from a different angle to the image on the front cover, so I chose a picture where the subject was sitting. However he is still playing the guitar (similar to the front image) because I think it’s important that I give off the right impression to my audience. An idea I included that wasn’t in my original plan was the star rating and the quotation from the Guardian. I thought this would be a good idea because people like proof that what they’re reading is true, and a quote and star rating from a well-respected paper would give them the reassurance they’re looking for. The main change I made from my plan was to have a rectangular inset image instead of a circular one, as I realised that most of my layouts are very linear and a circle wouldn’t fit in with that style. 

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I have used many conventions of real music magazines when creating my own. For example, I included a bold, interesting masthead that entices the audience, encouraging them to pick up my magazine. Plugs, free gifts, inserts and extra information are some of the conventions I have used. However, I feel I have challenged one of the typical conventions of a music magazine and that is the main image. Typically, most images are set up in a way to make the artist very attractive, almost perfect, so that the audience will covet the appearance of that person and want to be just like them. But I wanted to focus on the music element of my magazine, so my picture is not the most perfectly posed, especially as the subject isn't even making eye contact with the camera. By challenging this particular convention I hope that I have made my magazine more unique, and by doing so my audience would be more likely to buy my magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I think my magazine represents a large proportion of young people that enjoy 'pop' music. It represents them in a way that shows that just because they like pop music, they aren't boring robotic people accepting whatever the music industry's throw out, they appreciate 'real' music too. I wanted to represent this social group in a way that makes it clear that they appreciate talented singers and musicians just as much as indie/rock and roll/ fans do. In a more general way, I wanted to represent young people as being heavily interested in and sometimes dependant on music, for I know that this is the case sometimes, being in the primary target audience myself. 

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I would like my magazine to be distributed throughout the whole country, however, I want it to be available to everyone to purchase, which is why as well as having it in media institutions like WHSmiths, I would also have it in local newsagents. My magazine should be available to every kind of young person, where ever they live. I would like my magazine to be distributed by WHSmiths because they are renowned for their wide selection of magazines, and it's a well known fact that people go into WHSmiths specifically for magazines. They also have shops all across the country, so my magazine would be widely distributed.  

How did you attract/address your audience? 

Attracting an audience is easy with the right language. When attracting a teenage or young adult audience colloquialisms and slang are a must. For example, I used 'glasto' on my front cover, which is slang for the glastonbury festival. Young people appreciate language like that because they feel like you're identifying with them. Bright colours, a clear layout and a an artist that people want to hear about also attract an audience. 

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I was already familiar with the program I used to construct my front cover, contents page and double page spread. However, I did use a photo manipulating program to edit some of my pictures that i've never used before. It was surprisingly easy to use and I would definitely consider using it again. 

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The preliminary task was a big learning curve for me, because although I had made a magazine cover before, I'd never researched and planned for it. In actual fact, I think I went slightly overboard with my preliminary task, including some blogs on planning that I probably could have managed without. However, it was all useful because I used a lot of the same ideas in my main task. The preliminary task taught me that planning my product made it far easier to actually create as i'd already decided on everything that I was going to include.